Meet Ismailia, Egypt's first company town

In our third article on documenting the social history of historic districts of Egypt, Ahram Online walks with Mohamed Yehia, founder of Semsemia tours, and explores the stories behind the construction of the country's first company town during the digging of the Suez Canal in the mid-19th Century.

We are the city. We are the hustle and bustle and those endless walks amidst ancient buildings leaning on trees that watched our grandparents grow. We are the streets that twist and turn, widen and narrow down to small allies that bare the treasures of time. We are those old songs that get remixed and never fall out of fashion. We are the city that owns the truth and all our versions of it.

Own the City is a series documenting the social history of historic districts of Egypt.

After earning his Masters degree in Middle East history from the university of London, Mohamed Yehia decided to organise educational tours outside of Cairo. Yehia believes that culture and education go hand in hand. To realise his vision, he launched Semsemia Tours in 2022 to acquaint those interested with Egypt’s rich intangible heritage located outside of Cairo. He started off with Ismailia, his hometown, which is one of so many districts in Egypt that is rich in heritage though barely in the limelight.